{{Short description|Ingestion of stones}} '''Lithophagy''' is an ingestion of stones.<ref name="academic">{{cite web|url=https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/1/1/oby008/5267479|website=academic.oup.com|title=Lithophagy Prolongs Voluntary Dives in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)|access-date=2026-03-15}}</ref><ref name=alpa>Александр Паничев, [https://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya_biblioteka/434080/Litofagiya_prichiny_fenomena Литофагия: причины феномена]</ref> The term comes from Greek roots {{lang|el|λίθος + φᾰγω}}.
The term was suggested in 1922 by Pyotr Dravert.<ref>Федорова А.И. [https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/svoystva-i-deystvie-prirodnyh-mineralov-obzor-literatury Свойства и действие природных минералов (обзор литературы)]</ref> In Russian literature the term may also refer to geophagia.<ref name=alpa/>
==Discussion== Stones are found ingested by many animals. These called gastroliths.<ref>Wings O. 2007. A review of gastrolith function with implications for fossil vertebrates and a revised classification. Acta Palaeontol Pol52:1–16.</ref> In many cases the reason for this is unknown. Stones may be ingested to grind food or to serve as a ballast for aquatic animals.<ref>T J Uriona, M Lyon, C G Farmer, [https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/1/1/oby008/5267479 Lithophagy Prolongs Voluntary Dives in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)]</ref>
Walter Henry Medhurst describes a practice of "eating stones" in 19th-century China<ref>A Glance at the Interior of China Obtained During a Journey Through the Silk and Green Tea Districts Taken in 1845 By Walter Henry Medhurst · 1845 [https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Glance_at_the_Interior_of_China/6I1EAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=eating+of+stones+china&pg=PA15&printsec=frontcover p 15]</ref> and Brian S-K Li reported eating of stones as a literary trope in late imperial China (ca. 1550–1800).<ref>Brian S-K Li, [https://eventedebiyat.istanbul.edu.tr/event/2/contributions/194/contribution.pdf The Stone-Eaters: Lithophagy and Scholarly Fantasies of Ascetic Diets in Late Imperial China], 17 September 2025</ref>
{{anchor|Suodiu}}A street food fad of fried stones called ''suodiu'' or ''suodui'' ({{lang|zh|嗦丢}}) as reported in China in 2023.<ref>*[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/21/chinese-culinary-craze-of-stir-fried-stones-rocks-the-internet Chinese culinary craze of stir-fried stones rocks the internet] *[https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/suodiu-china-eating-stone-intl-hnk World’s hardest dish? Stir-fried stones are China’s latest street food fad] *[https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/unveiling-the-enigma-chinese-dish-suodui-challenges-culinary-norms-with-pebbles-as-the-main-ingredient/articleshow/101254443.cms?from=mdr Unveiling the Enigma: Chinese dish 'Suodui' challenges culinary norms with pebbles as the main ingredient]</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Eating behaviors Category:Rocks